Chapter 689: Dust Settles

East River Region.

"Good, very good," the black rock giant snarled, looking down at the diminutive Demon Eye Lord. His fury intensified. The Demon Eye Lord's intervention had cost him an eighth-tribulation secret treasure formation diagram and a domain-type secret treasure at least a million cubic units in size. This left Dark Star Lord feeling deeply pained and even more enraged.

"Demon Eye, since you've interfered, do you have the courage to take a punch from me?" Dark Star Lord's voice thundered through every corner of the surrounding void. His massive eyes fixed on Demon Eye Lord. "If you don't dare, just scurry away, and I won't mock you. After all, everyone knows you've been heavily wounded for over eighty thousand years." His words dripped with sarcasm.

Unable to secure the treasure, he wasn't going to let Demon Eye Lord off easy. Either Demon Eye Lord would lose face, or he'd have to take the punch! Dark Star Lord knew Demon Eye Lord had refrained from revealing his full strength for many years, undoubtedly for a reason. He seized this opportunity to push his opponent.

Demon Eye Lord's face darkened upon hearing this. He retorted coldly, "Take a punch? I'd like to see how powerful Dark Star's punch truly is.""Good, well said, Demon Eye!" Dark Star Lord cackled, then unleashed a mighty punch.

His fist, like an enormous celestial body, tore through the void's resistance. In an instant, it traversed hundreds of billions of miles, arriving directly before Demon Eye Lord. While his previous palm strike against Meng Chuan aimed for wide coverage to completely envelop the formation and leave Meng Chuan no escape, this punch sought extreme power. Given Demon Eye Lord's realm, if he wished to leave, Dark Star Lord wouldn't be able to stop him.

Demon Eye Lord stood his ground, disdaining to dodge. He had agreed to take a punch, and he would face it head-on.

"Boom!"

Meng Chuan also witnessed the black rock fist, hundreds of billions of miles wide. Its power astonished him; whether it was the previous palm or this punch, either would have obliterated him instantly. "This is the gap between me and a seventh-tribulation realm expert," Meng Chuan realized, while also carefully observing Demon Eye Lord.

From Demon Eye Lord's six arms, one hand was raised, and a single finger pointed forward.A single point from the fingertip!"Boom!"As the finger pointed, a visible point of light appeared. This light point seemed to be the origin of the entire universe, as if all cosmic power emanated from it.

It collided with the black rock fist. Dark Star Lord's fist was immensely powerful, capable of effortlessly destroying a dark chaotic void. Yet, upon impact with this single point of light, the colossal fist violently shattered and disintegrated. The terrifying force then traveled through the remnants of the fist towards Dark Star Lord's body.

"This —" Meng Chuan found the point of light too dazzling and too intense. His physical eyes couldn't discern it, nor could his spatial senses. Only his spacetime domain could vaguely perceive the process.With that single point from the fingertip, Dark Star Lord's entire arm was completely annihilated, and cracks appeared on his body.

However, almost instantaneously, countless subatomic particles coalesced. The cracks on Dark Star Lord's body vanished, and his arm regenerated, completely unharmed. This was the terrifying aspect of Dark Star Lord! His physical body was incredibly strong, to an unbelievable degree. Unless an attack completely annihilated him, he could instantly recover by utilizing the 'rule of matter'.

"As expected of Demon Eye Lord, once the strongest in the physical body lineage, to be able to wound my physical body." The colossal Dark Star Lord's voice boomed. He then glanced at Meng Chuan. "Lucky junior, let's see who can protect you next time." With that, Dark Star Lord turned and vanished with a single step.

Meng Chuan remained rooted to the spot.Next time? Next time, he hoped to face his opponent head-on.

"Demon Eye's finger, it can even annihilate a portion of Dark Star Lord's physical body?" Inside an ancient palace, a towering, mountain-like figure sat high on a throne, his gaze piercing through spacetime to watch the East River Region. His body was exceptionally broad. Even within his own cave mansion, he stood ten thousand miles tall and eight thousand miles wide, yet he didn't appear fat at all, but rather like a majestic mountain. He was Ancestral Witch King! Below Pavilion Master White Bird and Myriad Star Heavenly Emperor, he was the strongest in the physical body lineage and possessed the 'Witch Inheritance' left by an eternal being.

"Has Demon Eye's strength recovered?""Back then, he was renowned for his 'Destruction Demon Eye' and 'Six-Hand Secret Art'... and now it was just a single finger." Ancestral Witch King felt a subtle pressure, his brows furrowing like rolling hills. "However, after over eighty thousand years of dormancy, even today he only used one finger. His injuries must not be fully healed. Otherwise, no one would endure such a long period of self-restraint for over eighty thousand years."

How long was the lifespan of a seventh-tribulation mighty one? Usually, only a little over a hundred thousand years. No one would tolerate hiding for over eighty thousand years. Even solitary figures like Wind and Thunder Walker, or the reclusive Medicine Palace Master, had moments when they revealed their true might.

Demon Eye Lord's seemingly effortless finger strike, in reality, left him somewhat vexed. "I only used 50% of my strength, and the injury flared up again." Demon Eye Lord could feel the faint tendrils of dark power corroding his physical body. This dark power was beyond the universe's and even the living world's ability to isolate, affecting both his true body and his avatars. He had almost died completely back then, abandoning everything in the outside world to suppress the injury in his homeland. It took him nearly thirty thousand years to finally contain the injury.

Since then, most of his energy had been devoted to combating the injury. As he grew more familiar with it and his realm gradually improved, he was able to wield more of his power in direct confrontations. This time, after attempting to use 50% of his strength, his injury still felt somewhat unstable. "I was too confident back then," Demon Eye Lord sighed inwardly, having made just one wrong move.

"Thank you for your assistance, Lord," Meng Chuan stepped forward and said gratefully. Regardless of Demon Eye Lord's reputation, he had indeed helped Meng Chuan this time. Firstly, it saved him from revealing his escape method using the 'Spacetime Token'. Secondly, it would make the outside world believe that Demon Eye Lord and Meng Chuan had an unusual relationship, causing anyone who wished to harm Meng Chuan in the future to reconsider due to Demon Eye Lord's backing.

"Haha..." Demon Eye Lord chuckled. "It was merely a coincidence. My secluded cultivation had just ended, and I sensed a confrontation with Dark Star Lord. Out of curiosity, I took a look and only then learned of the situation, so I merely lent a hand."A coincidence? Merely lent a hand?Regardless of whether it was a coincidence, Meng Chuan naturally appreciated the favor since the other party had discovered the situation and was willing to intervene.

"And as I've said before," Demon Eye Lord smiled, looking at Meng Chuan, "I think highly of you, and I am naturally willing to forge good karma. Today I helped you; perhaps in the future, you will help me.""Lord, you flatter me," Meng Chuan quickly replied.

"Don't be modest," Demon Eye Lord said with a smile. "Time is a mysterious thing. Who knows what the situation will be tens of thousands of years from now? By the way, from today onwards, all seventh-tribulation mighty ones across the entire River of Spacetime will be paying attention to you. You'll need to be more careful in your actions from now on."

"All seventh-tribulation experts are paying attention to me?" Meng Chuan's heart stirred."The entire universe is only so big, and resources are finite. As your strength grows, you will inevitably be drawn into certain conflicts, so you must be cautious," Demon Eye Lord stated before turning and taking a small step, vanishing instantly.

"The stronger I get, the more I'll be forced into conflicts?" Meng Chuan pondered this and then smiled. As a Soul Tribulation realm expert, what conflicts should he fear? He immediately took a step and departed the East River Region as well.

"It's safe now. The Spacetime Token is a treasure for Cangyuan Realm," Meng Chuan mused. Outside Jiangzhou City, he was fishing with his wife, Liu Qiyue. Once his other Soul Avatar returned, he felt completely relieved. Both the exotic treasure, the Spacetime Token, and the eighth-tribulation secret treasure formation diagram were now safely within Cangyuan Realm. This was a significant gain.

While he was alive, he could study and use them himself. If his lifespan ended, he could leave them for his descendants in his homeland.

"Achuan, what's wrong?" Liu Qiyue asked, "Has something happened?""My Soul Avatar has returned to Cangyuan Realm after leaving the Nine Refinement Tower," Meng Chuan replied with a smile. "Just as it exited the tower, it was attacked, and even a seventh-tribulation mighty one ambushed me."